Cleveland Recovery Workforce Program

A recovery-to-workforce system that cities can deploy.

Recovery Grows is Cleveland's vertically integrated platform for addiction recovery, workforce development, and neighborhood transformation — built for high-acuity individuals the rest of the system has stopped trying to reach.

Get Help · Enroll → Deploy Capital → See the Model
6Months from
Intake to Job
CLEVELANDOHIO · EST 2025
6mo
From intake to placement: a single coordinated six-month pipeline
68%
Sustained recovery at 12 months — more than double the treatment-only baseline
Day 1
Stipend begins when you're active; full wages unlock once benchmarks are proven
81%
Placed into permanent work with a partner employer by month six
The Three-Headed Failure

Most cities attack these crises in isolation. That's why none of them get solved.

Recovery, housing, and employment programs run on separate budgets, separate funders, and separate timelines — so the people who need all three at once fall through every gap.

FAILURE 01

Recovery

Treatment ends and the person is returned to the same environment, the same network, and the same lack of structure that produced the crisis. Relapse isn't a personal failing — it's a system design choice.

FAILURE 02

Homelessness

Shelters provide a bed but no path. Without income and without a daily structure that produces dignity, "housing first" stalls before it can become "housing permanent."

FAILURE 03

Unemployment

Workforce programs assume a stable life as the prerequisite. People in active recovery — exactly the population most in need of work — are screened out before the conversation starts.

A large group of people seated together on a Cleveland street, smiling and raising their hands at a Recovery Grows community gathering.
One problem, one community.Recovery, housing, and work — held together by the people doing it.
Faces of the Program
The people the rest of the system has stopped trying to reach — we start there.
On the ground in ClevelandGroup meeting · Recovery Grows cohort
Recovery, Measured

The numbers most recovery programs don’t publish.

When recovery is coupled with paid, structured work, outcomes move. These are the benchmarks we track cohort-over-cohort — against the baseline the field calls “typical.”

Recovery Success
68%

Still in recovery at 12 months.

Participants who complete the 6-month Recovery Grows cohort sustain recovery at more than twice the rate of treatment-only peers.

92%
Graduate the 6-month cohort
81%
Placed in permanent work
$0
Out-of-pocket to participants
Recovery Failure — the Baseline
40–60%

Relapse rate for traditional treatment-only programs.

Without income, structure, or a pathway to work, most recovery plans break where they always break — in the gap between discharge and the rest of life.

1 in 3
Return within 90 days
11%
Employed at 6 months
—
No workforce arm, by design
Recovery Grows12-month sustained recovery
68%
National baselineTreatment only
32%
Illustrative benchmarks. Cohort outcomes self-reported; baseline ranges drawn from published SAMHSA and NIDA relapse literature. Final figures pending independent evaluation.
Small rooms, honest conversations.The work behind every percentage point — cohorts meeting weekly across Cleveland.
What We Operate

Four integrated programs. One coordinated pipeline.

Recovery, work, and revenue feed each other. Each pillar makes the others possible — and makes the model financially sustainable rather than donation-dependent.

A place to show up — before anyone asks you to commit to anything.

The front door of the pipeline is a low-pressure hub where people in the corridor can land, eat, get connected to services, and be known by name. Fourteen consecutive drop-ins is the first measurable signal that readiness is forming.

14
Drop-ins to qualify
7 days
Avg. to first contact
0
Cost to walk in

Drop-In Hub

A no-barrier entry point in the heart of Cleveland's high-density homeless corridor. Connection, structure, food, and a pathway — not a clipboard and a waitlist.

  • Walk-in access, no preconditions
  • Recovery support and case coordination
  • Direct intake into the workforce cohort

Job Readiness

Participants earn a stipend the moment they’re active in the program — and graduate to full wages once they’ve hit proven benchmarks. Work is framed as the treatment, not the reward for finishing one.

  • Stipend from day one, wages once proven
  • Structured cohort progression
  • Recovery embedded into the workday

Community Beautification Crews

Crews clean Land Bank properties, illegal dump sites, and neglected neighborhoods. The visible work generates municipal contracts that fund the next cohort.

  • Land Bank & dump-site remediation
  • Gardening and full-service landscaping
  • Paid contracts with cities and municipalities

Job Placement

Graduates exit into permanent employment with partner employers — with verified skills, a documented work history on real job sites, and the soft-skills benchmarks employers actually screen for.

  • Placement by month six
  • Tracked benchmarks: attendance, leadership, craft
  • Employer partnerships & alumni network
The Pipeline

From the corridor to a paycheck — in one continuous flow.

No handoffs between agencies. No re-applications. No falling through the cracks — and referrals to other helpful agencies whenever a participant needs support we don't provide in-house.

STEP 01

Reach

High-acuity individuals living unsheltered or in active treatment.

STEP 02

Drop-In & Assistance

Walk-in entry. Stabilization, intake, and immediate connection to supports.

STEP 03

Job Readiness

Stipend begins. Safety, craft, and soft-skills training on real sites.

STEP 04

Employment Experience

Active on community crews. Full wages unlocked once benchmarks are proven.

STEP 05

Placement

Matched into a permanent job with a partner employer — typically by month six.

Get Involved

Three ways to plug into the system.

Whether you're a funder, a city official, or a property owner who needs a crew on Monday — Recovery Grows has a clear way in.

For Funders

Deploy Capital Into Recovery Infrastructure

This isn't a charitable line item — it's an investment in a model that produces measurable workforce and neighborhood outcomes per dollar deployed.

Fund the Model →
For Cities & Employers

Partner in Workforce Development

Hire crews. Sponsor a cohort. Sign a municipal beautification contract. Each partnership simultaneously cleans your property and funds the next wave of recovery placements.

Become a Partner →
For Communities

Activate Community Transformation

Bring Recovery Grows to a neighborhood that needs it. We work with municipalities, Land Banks, and CDCs to deploy crews where the impact is most visible.

Request a Crew →
Common Questions

Recovery support, job readiness, and placement in one pipeline.

These answers are written for participants, families, funders, city officials, and employers who need to understand how Recovery Grows works before they reach out.

What is Recovery Grows?

Recovery Grows is a Cleveland recovery workforce program that connects drop-in support, job readiness, community beautification crews, and employer placement in one coordinated pipeline.

Who can enroll in Recovery Grows?

Recovery Grows is built for people who need recovery support, structure, job readiness, and a pathway into stable employment. Participants can reach out directly or be referred by a family member, friend, case manager, or partner organization.

How does the job readiness program work?

Participants begin with drop-in support and readiness benchmarks, then move into structured crews where they build attendance, safety, teamwork, leadership, and craft skills on real community projects.

How can cities, funders, or employers partner?

Cities, funders, employers, Land Banks, and community partners can support cohorts, sponsor crews, create municipal beautification contracts, or build employer placement pathways for graduates.

Where does Recovery Grows operate?

Recovery Grows operates in Cleveland, Ohio and is designed as a recovery-to-workforce model that other cities can deploy with the right local partners, funding, work sites, and employer pathways.

For Participants · Get Help

Ready to enroll? We start here.

If you or someone you love is ready for recovery, housing, and real work — reach out. We respond within 24 hours, and intake happens every week.

You don't need to have it figured out first. That's what the program is for.

24/7 Intake Line
(216) 555‑0100

Start your intake

Confidential. No cost. A real human calls you back within 24 hours.
By submitting, you agree to be contacted by Recovery Grows. Your information stays private.
Build With Us

Cleveland is the proof. The next city is yours.

Recovery Grows is built to be deployed — not just admired. Get in touch about funding, partnership, or bringing the model to your community.

Deploy Capital → Talk to the Team